I feel sad for those who will miss it.īLADE: Is “Ain’t No Mo’” more than a comedy? The run includes a blackout night, which means an entirely Black audience for one of the shows, which I think will be really incredible. I’m really looking forward to being around that community. After doing regional theater all over the country I appreciate how Woolly has cultivated an audience diverse in race and age. It’s a hallowed place for me, and Woolly’s audiences are incredible. The way we did the scene gave a glimpse into the otherwise unseen magical world he inhabits when not nursing.īLADE: Is Woolly still an artistic home for you? His drag is referred to in the script but never shown, so I really went to bat for it. ODOM: When I played Belize, the nurse in “Angels in America” at Round House Theatre, we did a scene with Belize in drag. I remember growing up and that was the sin to not be spoken of.īLADE: Is this your first time doing drag on stage? It’s a hot button issue in the Black community because so much of the culture is rooted in the Baptist church. With “Ain’t No Mo” he wanted to bring the two together. She’s the gatekeeper.įor most of his life Jordan felt more comfortable in Black rather than queer spaces. In a recent conversation, he told me that Peaches was inspired by Eunice Evers the nurse in David Feldshuh’s play “Miss Evers’ Boys’” about the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. To make Peaches my own is a wonderful challenge.īefore Peaches, Jordan hadn’t written a queer character. ODOM: I’m the second actor to play Peaches. But yeah, the corset and heels alone change the way you move and breathe.īLADE: Jordan Cooper both wrote and created the part of Peaches on stage. You don’t meet a lot of drag queens who’ve done text work. It’s been a challenge to create a drag queen from the inside out. JON HUDSON ODOM: She’s a lot of fun, but she’s also fierce and not to be fucked with. I’m really excited to see what we can bring to his work.” again is being in a room with incredibly talented Black artists at Woolly Mammoth: “Jordan is one of our best playwrights and ‘Ain’t No Mo’’ is a brilliant vehicle to showcase some great talent. In Chicago, Odom is closer to family and working from there, he’s found many opportunities on stage (including the prestigious Steppenwolf Theatre Company) and television.įor Odom, the most gratifying part about working in D.C.
Now being a Blanche is a choice for me too.”Ī staple of Washington theater for more than a decade before returning to his native Chicago about four years ago, he’s pleased to be back in town but doesn’t regret having left. It was the ‘Street Car Named Desire’ mold – either you’re a Stanley or a Mitch.
I’d bring some part to do in class but queer roles weren’t offered. “So, to have come this far where I can stand on stage proudly as a queer Black man is quite the revolutionary thing for the community.
“The idea of remaining in the closet to move ahead in this profession was an idea that was very much present,” says the handsome 30-something actor. As an acting student at North Carolina School of the Arts, Odom didn’t foresee a future speckled with queer roles.
0 kommentar(er)
